A report that GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network released shows that LGBT youth experience nearly three times as much bullying and harassment online as non-LGBT youth, but also find greater peer support, access to health information and opportunities to be civically engaged.
The study, “Out Online: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth on the Internet,” is based on national surveys of 5,680 students in sixth through 12th grades.
The report is the first to examine in-depth the experiences of LGBT youth online.
Out Online reveals that LGBT youth were more likely than non-LGBT youth to be bullied or harassed online (42 percent vs. 15 percent) and twice as likely to say they had been bullied via text message (27 percent vs. 13 percent). Survey respondents also reported they were as likely to report not feeling safe online (27 percent) as they were at school (30 percent) and while traveling to and from school (29 percent). However, 50 percent of LGBT youth reported having at least one close online friend, compared to only 19 percent of non-LGBT youth.
See action.glsen.org/page/m/33ca6087/12a6038a/1d0ec295/696f5d66/736153839/VEsH/.